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Geology

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California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Nacimiento block

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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Detrital Zircon Geochemistry Of The Nacimiento Block, Santa Ynez Mountains, California, Vincent Zhao Jun 2014

Detrital Zircon Geochemistry Of The Nacimiento Block, Santa Ynez Mountains, California, Vincent Zhao

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

The long-lived California section of the North American Cordillera is one of the most studied continental margins in the world; however, erosion and deformation in areas along the San Andreas Fault and the Sur-Nacimiento Fault has erased sections of the Cordillera which could provide insight in Cordilleran processes. The lost sections are partially preserved in detrital zircons deposited alongside the arc in fore-arc basins such as in the Toro Formation of the Nacimiento block which represents the coastal central California equivalent to the Great Valley Group, located in the Santa Ynez Mountains. Geochemical analysis of the detrital zircons from the …


Determining Ancient Movement Of The Sur–Nacimiento Fault Zone Using Detrital Zircon Geochronology, Jennifer Per Lee Jun 2012

Determining Ancient Movement Of The Sur–Nacimiento Fault Zone Using Detrital Zircon Geochronology, Jennifer Per Lee

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

Middle Cretaceous movement along the Sur–Nacimiento Fault has implications for our understanding of how convergent tectonic margins evolve and for the architecture of forearc basins. Traditional explanations suggest an autochthonous California Mesozoic Forearc that underwent sinistral or thrust displacement; although recent research suggests either an allochthonous forearc or an isolated Nacimiento Block that experienced significant dextral displacement. Detrital zircons obtained from the Great Valley Group within the Nacimiento block provide age distribution patterns that can help identify sources of sediment deposition and therefore the past location of the Nacimiento block. Using U-Pb detrital zircon geochronology, we have discovered a dominance …